Union High School. I hates this place as a kid. The mild was always spoiled, the classes were way below the requirements set by the state and it seemed as though everyone was related somehow. I am the gym teacher here at Union, ny name is Jeffery Burkette, but most of the school calls me Ironman. I'm like a local town celebrity. You're probably asking yourself why. Why am I called Ironman? Why am I a local town celebrity? Well, I'm a double amputee, lost both my legs in a car accident when I was about 17, now I have two prosthetic legs. Ironic isn't it? A guy with two prosthetics a gym teacher? well, being the definition of Irony wasn't my goal when I was planning out the rest of my life. I wanted to become the next Carl Lewis. I was the star athlete at Union, best in the state actually. Track, that was my sport. In the spring of my junior year I qualified to go to the national level and compete for a chance at an olympic trial. Whoever does the best in their catagory gets to fly out to Houston, Texas to train with some former and current Olympians for 6 months and at the end of the trial if you're lucky (any by luck I mean, the best of the best) you get to actually compete in the next summer Olympics.     This was my chance, my opportunity to live out my dream. So i practiced as hard and as much as I could, pushed my body past its point of exhaustion. When I got to the tournament I signed up for my race, 500m dash. One of the staff showed me the locker room where I could get ready. At about 5 minutes unitl my race she came back and told me to go get in my holding area. This was it. My life was about to change forever, hopefully for the best.     The gunshot went off, I was sprinting harder and faster than I ever had in my life, focusing on my breathing, I pushed harder and then it was over. I won. Everone was cheering but I felt like I was going to faint, not out of exhaustions, but anxiety. My life was about to change but little did. I know no in the way that I had expected. One of the recruiters came over to me. He was dressed in a suit. He congratulated me and told me I got the trial and I would have to fly out ASAP so we could get papers signed and start training.     April 5th, the day I was scheduled to fly to Houston. I woke up, put my suitcase in the back of my mom's minivan and ate a light breakfast. A quarter past five we got in the van and set out for the 30 minute drive to the airport. My mom insisted on leaving early eventhough my flight wasn't scheduled to leave until 7 a.m. I remember there not being many cars ont he road, making it a very quiet drive. From the point, I don't remembermuch more. My mind goes blank when I try to think about it. All I can conjure up after that, is I remember waking up in a hospital bed with wires and tubes running from me. I'm numb from the waist down. A lady approached me and asked if I knew my name or what happened. I told he ny name was Jefferey Burkette and I had no idea what the heck was going on. She let out a sign and informed me that I had been in a very nad car accident and that my mother is okay but I was thrown from the car and pinned between it and a tree causing such sever damage to my legs that they had to be amputated. All that information cam at me like a train, I coudn't bring myself to look at my nubs of what used to be legs. This is it. My dreams done-for. I can't even walk so how am I supposed to run.     The next couple of months I spent in rehab learning how to walk on my new metal legs. They are different. But its better than no legs I guess. I was in the news paper, on local news channels, even people from the hihg school were sending in cards. That's when they started calling me Ironman. I found it almost inspirational, only somewhat offensive. But I embraced it. I carried out the rest of my education lie a normal person, hmmmm well, a person with legs, I am normal. I graduated from college with a degree in Physical Education. Again, I get the Irony but I believed that's what would be right if I couldn't be an Olympic athlete. Sort of.     Immediately, my former high school, Union, offeredme the job as Gym teacher but also as the Track and Field coach. This is my chance. This is what I do now and I enjoy it. Like an inspirations to others. It's still upsetting to know that I wouldn't compete in the Olympics and win gold, but maybe in the future I would try for the Special Olympics.